I just try to get to a point where a 10 mile run is pretty casual (just meaning I’m not super sore the next day) and hit the one hill my city had at least once a week with a 50 lb pack, walk up and down until I hit 1k vertical each way. I also lift a few times a week but that’s just because I enjoy it. I personally feel like a lack of volume is the most likely thing to bite you on a hunt (for example Achilles killing you by the third day because you’re putting in way more mileage than you’re used to and aggravating ligaments).
Physical prep for season
- Thread starter Aknight1111
- Start date
MTNTOUGH has good stuff and has been effective for many people. There are too many positive reviews to dispute that. But I found myself modifying or substituting things to accommodate age and injury history.
For example: At 58-years-old, with prior surgeries on shoulder, knee, and back, I don’t do ballistic movements like box jumps or sprinter lunges. I had to use something less ballistic when those showed up in the progress. If I substitute and modify enough, soon I’m really no longer doing the program I paid for.
I do appreciate general principles and ideas behind MTNTOUGH, but when it comes to specifics, I select movements with my age and injury history in consideration.
Me too. That was fine in my younger days, but no longer. Starting at about age 35, most people begin to lose a little bit of their natural strength year by year until one day they wake up “old.”
Care to share three things?
- Your age?
- Your injury/surgery history?
- The day to day physicality of your current job?
There was a time, due to the above mentioned factors being in my favor, that I could always perform on demand without preparation.
For example, I once walked about 25 miles over mountain trails in a little over six hours from the upper Yellowstone River to the trail head at Turpin Meadows in jeans and packer boots (lace up, but with riding heels) while leading my saddle horse packed. My pack mule had “quit and gone home” during the night, so I packed camp on my saddle horse and led him out walking without thinking it was a big deal.
That was 1992 and I was 26 years old with no injury history and a physical day to day job. The days of doing things like that without preparation are no more for me.
WeiserBucks
WKR
I'm 42, have broken my back, hip and little bones. I had a huge gastro surgery to remedy the side effects of bringing fists to a knife fight and I drive a desk for $$.
As long as my mind is in the game my body keeps up.
Hat’s off to you. You’re doing great at 42 and in your circumstances.
MountainMan83
FNG
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2022
- Messages
- 98
I train Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing 2-3 times per week at 7800 feet. I walk daily and go on hikes on weekends. I hunt year round - bear in September; elk October, deer November, small game December - February; and turkey in April/May. I work around my hobby farm pushing wheelbarrow full of dirt/manure, garden in the summer, move 120 bales of hay every fall, and chop all my firewood with an axe. For me just staying active, keeping up with chores, and living at altitude keeps me in great shape.
Well at 60 I start my Sept prep July 1st. I can no longer run due to a vehicle accident in 17 which nearly took my right leg. Broken pelvis, broken right hip, broken right femur and crushed right foot. My femur went through my right knee, resulting a TKR one year later. My work outs now consist of 10-16 miles on a bike 3 times a week and starting w 40 pounds in my pack three times a week, starting at 3 miles.
Upper body, push ups and pullups. Core gets the wheel of death 3 times a week. The stepper and elliptical get hammered 2-3 times a week. This is through July until Aug 1st.
Aug is when the bike rides go up to 20-26 miles, ruck weight goes up to 60lbs and hikes are between 4-6 miles with some nasty hills that I hate.
Not getting any younger, and my hunting partners are 30 and 25. Last year we packed 2 bulls in one day. Mine ended up being 5.5 miles one way, first one was around 2 miles in and out. Now I made the young guys take the hinds, while I would have the head and back straps, or a front shoulder and the back straps.
I managed to take the next 2 days off and do some fishing, after that two bull day. Getting old is awful.
Upper body, push ups and pullups. Core gets the wheel of death 3 times a week. The stepper and elliptical get hammered 2-3 times a week. This is through July until Aug 1st.
Aug is when the bike rides go up to 20-26 miles, ruck weight goes up to 60lbs and hikes are between 4-6 miles with some nasty hills that I hate.
Not getting any younger, and my hunting partners are 30 and 25. Last year we packed 2 bulls in one day. Mine ended up being 5.5 miles one way, first one was around 2 miles in and out. Now I made the young guys take the hinds, while I would have the head and back straps, or a front shoulder and the back straps.
I managed to take the next 2 days off and do some fishing, after that two bull day. Getting old is awful.
What kind of routine do you follow?
I do one day pushing, one day pulling and a shoulder day. 5-6 days on usually and the a 2 day break.
I also mix in some abs of whatever I feel like and leg extensions/curls and presses. I don't want my legs to grow in size, just want them to look muscular and be strong.
I do it for stess relief, keep in shape and aestics. I do fitness/body building competitions, so I don't have to worry about being fat. I'm usually chasing size and cutting.
Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
Any advice on macro nutrients or do you eat whatever you feel like?
PaBone
Lil-Rokslider
I think eating clean and staying in shape has to be a lifestyle. As an Easterner, I don't think you draw an elk tag then decide to get in shape.
Indian Summer
WKR
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2013
- Messages
- 2,445
Bingo! Weight loss and muscle building isn’t something you do because you have a first date with someone. It’s not a temporary thing. It means a change in eating habits and your overall lifestyle. Not only do you have to be on a mission but you also have to make the time. The older we get the less free time we have. Eventually as you age you’ll come to realize that time is more important than things like money. That’s the bad news.
The good news is this: Elk hunting or anything where you push your body to limits you never knew is a mental game. To me the biggest benefit of physical conditioning is that it strengthens your mental game. It builds up your confidence in your physical abilities.
I’m not blowing smoke either!!! I have guided guys that were way bigger and stronger than me. Guys right out of the military that didn’t have an ounce of fat on them. Hunters taller and younger than me.
As clients were arriving at the airport my guides would look at their contracts and talk about who they would like to guide the following week. The rookies would always pick the younger guys thinking they’d be able to hunt harder. But they found out really fast that a 50 year old carpenter had way more in him than a 28 year old internet technician. Different ways of life. Not only was the carpenter in better physical shape but he’s used to working hard for what he wants. All the software programs in the world aren’t going to get 250 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood up onto a roof. Those guys have callouses. A small cut or bruise isn’t worth even slowing down for. They play with pain every day.
It’s not a race. It’s more of a mental marathon. I have seen some damn tough guys crash and burn. Ask to be packed off the mountain only halfway through a hunt. Sleep in and take days off. I’ve seen people learn things about themselves they never knew. Some good and some bad. I’ve seen them leave with more spring in their step with a huge sense of accomplishment and what they found out they were capable of. I’ve seen some tough guys literally get mad because the mountains chewed them up and spit them out.
I’ve had some people surprise the hell out of me. Not by being Superman but just by getting up on time every day and hunting with a smile on their faces to the very end. I might be a little cynical but I love when a 70 year old hunter comes back into camp with a bull he killed on the very last day while a couple young wannabes were in camp because they threw in the towel a day or two earlier thinking today would be like any other day.
This: When you develop the ability to hunt the last day with the same confidence and attitude that you had the very first morning then you are prepared to take on the physical aspects of elk hunting. If you’ve never been to boot camp or given birth to a 10 pound baby it could very well be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. It’s not for everyone. That’s why the classified ads are full of “used only once” gear. lol
Oh and my resume….. 60 years old, 5 ft 6 inches and 193 pounds. So trust me I know what’s important to finding killing and packing out elk. It’s NOT being young tall and skinny and good looking. There are lots of us old fat ugly guys in the 10% who punch elk tags regularly.
I am 51 and started to exercise about 3 years ago and it has been a slow progression. I was planning to go on a Mountain Goat hunt and did not want to spend that kind of $$$ without preparing. I have been on Mountain Tough for about a year and a half. It has worked well for me. I too need to substitute some exercises to work around injuries. I feel like I have the confidence to do what's needed to do these hunts out here. I am originally from Wisconsin so I did not grow up hiking in the mountains like alot of guys here.
Skerhunter
WKR
You can do a variety of workouts and get the same results, but everyone is different. Some guys the pack out is the easiest part of the hunt others (like me) it’s the hardest part by far. There is no substitute for being in the mountains and you will walk yourself into shape there faster than any conditioning prior to the hunt.
I think there are two main things you need to train for.
1. Mental toughness focused on cardio/steps. You need to be comfortable at an elevated heart rate for extended periods of time and know how to control that heart rate (140-150bpm) by changing pace without stopping. This can be done with rucking/running/biking/stairs or if you’re lucky hiking at elevation regularly. Need to work up to a point where you can do this every day or you will want to quit after a few days.
2. Find your weakness and work on it.
-If you are small and weak carrying a heavy pack will be the hardest thing you do. Train for heavy rucks and strength training.
-If you are a big guy with a physical job - losing weight and focus on improving cardio.
-If you have a desk job - you are weak and need to focus on strength + cardio.
The guys I have seen fail that tried hard leading up to a trip generally focused on their strengths and their weakness made them quit. Generally they chose to do one type of cardio vs a variety. Everyone that quit me was over weight also.
I think there are two main things you need to train for.
1. Mental toughness focused on cardio/steps. You need to be comfortable at an elevated heart rate for extended periods of time and know how to control that heart rate (140-150bpm) by changing pace without stopping. This can be done with rucking/running/biking/stairs or if you’re lucky hiking at elevation regularly. Need to work up to a point where you can do this every day or you will want to quit after a few days.
2. Find your weakness and work on it.
-If you are small and weak carrying a heavy pack will be the hardest thing you do. Train for heavy rucks and strength training.
-If you are a big guy with a physical job - losing weight and focus on improving cardio.
-If you have a desk job - you are weak and need to focus on strength + cardio.
The guys I have seen fail that tried hard leading up to a trip generally focused on their strengths and their weakness made them quit. Generally they chose to do one type of cardio vs a variety. Everyone that quit me was over weight also.
Respect to you for staying active. I suppose there’s some advantage to running for some people, but many have proven it’s not necessary for either general health or hunting fitness.
I don’t have your injury history, but my joints can be a little achy. So I never “go for a run” in the usual sense, but I do like to put some running intervals into a hike. This is never a certain number of intervals done for time or distance. I do it as a random thing according to terrain and how I feel, usually on a little incline stretch.
Skerhunter
WKR
The only advantage to running I have found is time. Running a few miles per day can be accomplished in under 30 minutes and doesn’t disrupt your daily routine.
If your body can’t take it, it just takes a longer time commitment with walking/rucking/biking/stairs to get the same results.
I sure miss it, sounds odd. But running was my escape from everything. I do believe it helped w cardio and kept me from being so winded.
Last year I hunted 19 days, the boys were only able to hunt 12 due to vacation time. Some days I would fall behind the youngsters, but they never got out of my sight. We chased every bugle we heard, with some grumbling from the boys.
And know all about the " achy joints " no doubt it sucks, but you just have to keep moving.
Funny about the youngsters grumbling about chasing distant bugles, it resulted in 3 dead bulls.
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